Day 289 & 293- Moldy Mondays

November has arrived. It's the time of the year when the weather is wet all day and my clothes are always damp. This is also the month we experience the highest rainfall in Singapore. 

Is it snowing already where you are? I have my share of white fluffy flakes too and they all come falling into my tribal house. Except mine is not snow but mold. Barely the 1st Monday of the month and  I already found them sneaking up my stairs.

They always attack my stairs first, just like last November. Actually last year, the stairs were the only place I found them. I cleaned, I repainted and then varnished and I thought they were gone forever. Back again they came, more aggressive this time around.  By this Monday, I already see them on my walls and floors.

I had to shift everything on the floor away so that I could remove the mold. Even then , some remain stubbornly stuck in the crevices that I cannot reach. Needless to say, my house is in shambles now.

I used to love the rainy season but now that I have to contend with the mold, I am not sure anymore. The one thing I am definite about though is that no matter how well I clean them out this time, they will be back again, same time, same place next year. 

Day 254-Gifts For Baby, Jennifer's Way

First, a wire basket

of many nutritious eggs,

for both mummy and baby
to keep them strong and healthy.

Then a pitcher and bowl for washing

before mummy handles baby

or cooks a meal for him.

And while the water's boiling  

to fill up for their bath

we can already hear his gurgles,
the splashing and their laughs.

A lovely crib for Baby
to sleep under the sky

while mummy sings to him
the sweetest lullaby

Books for when mum's not so busy?

But life with Baby does get a little crazy!

And although she knows it won't be long
Before he grows tall, big and strong
 No matter what, she says to he,
you are always my baby boy to me.

All these wonderful Gifts for Baby were won by me in a giveaway organised by Jennifer om 23/5/2011. There was also a sachet where she put dried lavender that she grew herself and of course, her cards starring the plush toys that she made

I remembered how thrilled I was when I found out I had won because the cradle, metal pot, bathtub, paper dolls and photos were from when she started collecting minis in the '70s. The wash basin, basket of eggs, and baby books were recent finds but the baby books are vintage 1970s as well.

I soon found out that this kind of generosity is not unusual where Jen is concerned. Sharing and giving is her way of life and if you are a follower of her blog, I am sure you will know exactly what I mean. This lady organises giveaways so often that I think she has one every other time I visit her blog!  

Here's to you, Jen!  

You make blogland fun with your plushies and your generosity.

I am so glad we are friends.

Day 289-The Day I Lost My Blog

It had just happened and I am still a little shell shocked. About an hour and a half ago, when it was still 11/11/11 and as I was browsing blogs and leaving comments, my account was suddenly suspended. It happened innocently enough- I wrote a comment and when I tried to publish it, I realised that I was signed out. In the drop down box where Blogger asked you to pick the account you wanted to sign in as, I picked Google and was brought to the sign in page. I tried to sign in and I got this

Account has been disabled

If you've been redirected to this page from the sign-in page, it means that access to your Google Account has been disabled.

A few more futile attempts later,  I  contacted the admin and emailed them  about what happened.

I then tried to access my blog and to my horror,  I was brought to a page that say the blog at sansdollhousediaries.blogspot.com has been removed. Many many many attempts later, I had to resign myself to the fact that my blog was gone. All 231 posts , 3 years , records , pictures! Vanished into thin air! 

NO NO NO!!!!

ARGH!!!! 
&*^% &^%

.............




.............

Maybe I will finally have time to stitch 

or 

this could just be a hitch?

I think I went through all 4 stages of grief in that one minute. 

I emailed again, this time to tell them what had happened to my blog.

I then spent the next hour in cold sweat, reading about how people had waited for months after their blogs were removed and never regained access to their blogs. There were many reasons given for the suspension: copyright infringement, spam, suspicious clicking (??!!).  I tried to think , did I not attribute authorship?  Maybe I was leaving too many comments?

At 11.11pm (I think) and with trembling hands, I signed in using another gmail account. This time, I got a page that asked me how will you feel if one day you lose access to Google(?!). They then asked for a notification email and my mobile for verification purpose.  I keyed in both.

I logged out and then tried one more time to log into this blog. Lo and behold, a new page! This time to inform me that they would need me to provide my mobile number for the verification password as they had detected some invalid activities.

I got my blog back after that.

I don't even know how to describe that 90 minute ordeal. It's like a wake up call where the alarm clock never stopped ringing for 90 minutes.

I must be really frazzled because all I wanted to do was to write all this down. For record and to remind me not to panic the next time it happened.

And I can tell I am still not thinking straight.

What's the point of writing all this down in a blog that could vanish into thin air again?

Day 283- The Handbag of Glory

What kind of world is it when you thank someone for making you happy and in return, they crochet you a handbag and then fill it with the most glorious things? As incredible as it sounds, there is a world such as this and it is inhabited by angels like Rosamargarita. Lucky for me, I get to be a part of this wonderful world as well.

RosaM, as she is affectionately called by me, lives in a faraway land called Guadalajara in Mexico. Thanks to Blogland, we met over a basket weaving tutorial and since then, have been visiting each other regularly. 

It was just another August evening when at La Tapatia and in a post not quite related to miniatures, RosaM decided to post some links to music so long gone, they actually made me crazy happy when I heard them. It was not unlike meeting a favourite aunt you haven't seen for 40 years. 

3 days after her post, the 3 of us who left a comment on that post were told we had each won a prize. It was RosaM's way of celebrating 333 followers and a commemoration of something that happened 33 years ago.  As far as I was concerned, this giveaway took the cake for being the most unusual.  

RosaM made something special for our projects and I received mine on the 4th of October 2011.  When I showed them to my dolls, Maya insisted that the hat and cardigan would go perfectly with her outfit. Baby can wear them when I outgrow the clothes, she told me, after all, blue is for boys, right?

Angel RosaM, 

I make this post to celebrate your Handbag of Glory.

If I may quote Edward Monkton, and for the benefit of my friends who will need a translation of what my rather dirty coaster is saying:

Such was the power of the 

handbag of glory that 

ladies wept when they saw it and

those who touched it 

went straight to Heaven

Thank you, Rosamargarita.

Day 286- 287 Sewing Kit

I believe I acquire the love for gadgets and gizmos from my dad. In some ways, I am even more of a gadget fiend than he is because I buy them even when I don't understand them. Like these sewing gizmos I purchased on 4th November 2011 at the Golden Dragon Store, possibly Singapore's oldest haberdashery. Manufactured by Clover, these accessories were part of their Antique Range and I bought almost every item available that day, even the completely useless ones, just because they were too pretty to resist...

or maybe not, like this one for instance.

It looks like a weapon, doesn't it? A finger duster?

It is actually a thread cutter ring and is supposed to make cutting thread easy. 

Verdict: 100 points for cool factor but 50 for convenience-
easier to use a pair of scissors or your teeth.

About this one that looks like an iron mask, I have a secret to confess. I had never really understood thimble and how it was used until a month ago and this was after I had started stitching for 2 over years. As far as I was concerned, thimbles were vases for dollhouses.

It was only after I had started on the 32 count canvas, broken about a dozen needles and suffered from really sore thumbs that I appreciated thimbles.  Now I wear three of them when I sew. 

This one I bought without knowing what it was for. 

I only found out it was a threader after I reached home and looked at the cover carefully. It is way too big for petite point needles and is therefore completely useless to me. In any case, I have never used a threader because I don't need it. Yet. 

If you think this one is a pin cushion (the red part), then you and I think alike

but we are wrong. 

This is a needle sharpener and polisher.

It is no use for cleaning rusty needles though.

Can you guess what the bigger thimble is for?

Yes, that is a pencil sharpener

and they are for sharpening these.

I went shopping at Golden Dragon Store because I started stitching again on 28 Oct 2011. This carpet was started on 3 February this year and it was so difficult I stopped for more than 8 months. I also made a mistake (as usual) with the count and had to undo the stitches at the border. It is the hardest carpet that I have done to date because I used 4 threads for a 32 count canvas and I am going blind trying to find the holes. 

This is where I am now, going very, very slowly. 

You know what they say about how a bad workman blames his tools?

For me, it is a case of a bad workman needing many tools, the fancier the better.

So I say, indulge, my dear friends,when you can. Spoil yourselves with pretty tools especially if they can make you pick up where you left off and love what you do again. And now, for some late night stitching.